Motor-vehicle chassis.



W. H. DOUGLAS.

MOTOR VEHICLE CHASSIS.

APPLICATION FILED 001216, 1911,

1, 1 1 5,41 3. Patented 0015.211914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. H. DOUGLAS.

MOTOR VEHICLE CHASSIS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.16, 1911.

1, 1 1 5,41 3. Patented 0015.27, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. H. DOUGLAS.

MOTOR VEHICLE CHASSIS.

APPLIGATION FILED 0OT.16, 1911.

1,1 1 5,41 3; 1 Patented oct. 27, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'Muni ffii-Rf@ e6. L

WILLIAM H. DOUGLAS, or BELLEvILLE, COMPANY., or New Yoan, 1v. Y.,

sas earner sie.

NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HEALEY & A CORPORATION 0F NEWYORK.

Mo'rnfvnnIcLn cHAfssIs.

T0 all whom t may concern 1 'Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DOUGLAS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Belleville, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Motor Vehicle Chassis, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in motor vehicle Qchassis of that class in which the front steering traction wheels are driven from the motor.

This invention has-for its; objects to provide certain improvements in the construction, form and arrangement of the several parts whereby the noise incident to the operation ofthe vehicle and the wear upon the parts is obviated to a material degree .and in which the structure is strengthened and simplified.

This invention consists more specifically in improvements in the frame; the motor arrangement; the motor support; the means for bracing the motor and its support; the arrangement of the vehicle springs and their connections with the frame and axles, and the common bracket support for the .radius rode, brake shaft and steps.`

A practical embodiment of my invention is representedji'n the accompanying drawings, in whichi Figure 1 represents the chassis of an .electric motor driven vehicle of Athe front drive type, in top plan, embodyingmy improvements, Fig. 2 represents the same in side elevation, Fig. 3 is a rear end view of the chassis, Figfliis a front end view of the saine, Figs. 5. and 6 are detail sectional views taken at .right angles to each other showing the manner of mounting the rear inverted semi-elliptic vehicle springs on the drop rear axle, Figs. 7 and 8 are detail sectional viewstaken at right angles to each other showing the manner of mounting the front semi-elliptic vehiclel springs on the front axle housing, Fig. 9 is a detail .sectional view showing the manner of mounting the motor, Fig. 10 isan enlargedvJdetail sectional view showing the resilient means for.

securing the rearhend ofthe motor supporting bar tothe, frame andthe means for adjusting the side braces for said bar, Fig. 11 is a detail side view of the adjustable means for `attaching the rear' end of the side braces to the rearend of the motor .sup-

Speciiicatioii of Letters Patent.

Patented (Pct. 2?, 1914i.

Application led October 16, 1911. Serial No. 654,996.

porting bar, Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view taken in the plane of the line A-A of Fig. 11, and Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are different detail views showing the yielding driving connectionf'between the motor shafth and the worm shaft.

The frame comprisesthe side bars 1,-2,

cross bars 3 and 5, intermediate longitudinal bars 14, 15, extending vfrom cross'bar 6, to crossbar 8, along7 lthe sides of the bars l, 2; and a pair of intermediate'longitudinal bars 16, 17, extending between the cross b'ars 7, I8.l The forward portion of the frame is elevated and the rear portion lof the frame is depressed, the front side extension arms 9 and 10. being extended downwardly and .forwardly and the rear side extension'arms 11, 12, being extended upwardy and rearwardly.

The front .traction wheels are denoted-by 18, 19, the axle for which is inclosed in a front axle housing 20. These wheels-are .steered from the steering wheel 21V through suitable connecting parts of well known and approved form, a specific description of which'will not be made herein.

The rear traction wheels are denoted by 22, 23, and they 'are suitablymounted upon a rear drop axle 24,'the uprising vertical branches of which are denoted by 25,y 26. The motor is denoted by 27 and it is herein shown as an electric motor.

The motor shaft 28 drives a worm shaft 29 through a yielding lconnection such as that, shown in detail in Figs. 13, 14 and 15, in which the motor shaft is provided fwith wings-30, 81, and the worm shaft 29"is provided witha casing 32 having inwardly extended wingsv 33, 34, alternating with the motonshaft wingsBO, 31. Blocks of rubber or other resilient material 35 are interposed 34, cf the motor and worm shafts 28, 29.

The driving 'connection between the worm shaft29 and the front axle for driving the front traction wheels 18, 19, will not be de-y scribed herein as it forms. the subject matteiof a co-pending application.

The motor supporting bar 36 is "permafluentlyand rigidly secured'at its front e'ndwithin a lug 37 projecting rearwardly fromv f."

the front axle housing 20. The rear end of this motor supporting bar 36 is `resiliently supported from the frame by the following means :-A bolt 38 projects rearwardly from the inner end of the bar 36 through a sleeve 39 having laterally arranged lugs 40, 41, projecting from its opposite sides through the depending portions of the intermediatey longitudinalcbars 16, 17. This sleeve. 39 is further provided with a centrally arranged interior annular flange 42 spaced a short distance from the bolt 38 so as to permit a slight lateral movement of the bolt within the said sleeve. Yielding cushioning rings 43, 44, surround the bolt 38 upon opposite sides of the interior annular flange 42 for yieldingly holding the bolt 38 centered with respect to the sleeve 39. A-nut 45 engages the screw threaded end of the bolt 38 for holdino' the parts in `their assembled position. washer 46 is preferably inserted between the yielding block 44 and the nut 45. Nuts 47, 48, engaging the screw threaded ends of the lugs 40, 41, serve to secure the bars 16, 17, to said lugs. These rings 43, 44, serve to permit a slight twisting motion of the bar. They also absorb the longitudinal shocks of the bar in both directions as well as permitting the-slight lateral movement of 30 the bar in all directions.

The adjustable fdiagonal side braces for the motor supporting bar 36 are constructed and arranged as follows :-A bolt 49 and lining 49* are inserted laterally through the rear end of the-bar 36 and enlarged end of -the bolt 38 and the bolt is provided exterior to said bar upon both sides thereof with collars 50, 51, held in position by the nuts 50, 511, on the ends of said bolt 49. vertically 40 arranged bolts 52, 53, pass through the bifurcated, ends of split sleeves 54, 55, and intermediate lugs 56,57, on the collars 50, 51. f The front ends of the diagonal side braces 58, 59, are bolted to the under side of the.

45. front axle housing 20 upon opposite sides of the front end of the bar 36. The rear ends .of these side braces are adjustable in the split sleeves 54, 55, by providing the braces l with nuts 60, 61, having their'shanks screw v5.0 threaded into the split sleeves 54, 55.l These 'nuts arel -held againstl longitudinal movement on the the ends of their braces vby providing each4 offsaid braces with a pin 62 having itsinner end 63 spread to engage the 55, rear end ,of the shank of each, nut. Clampbolts 64,765, are-.provided for locking the'nuts 60, 61,'r against movement when Ithe lbrace's 58,v 59, have been adjusted to the proper tension. l f

" 69 The motor 27 is" supported on the bar 36 by straps 66 .and it is held against any lateral movement on said bar by diagonal adjustable braces as follows: Two rods 67 68, 4 project 'downwardly and forwardly at about right angles to each other from a plate 69 v to the free `secured on the top of the motor casing.

Two rods 70, 71, extend upwardly and rearwardly from the means for clamping the front vehiclefsprings to the front axle housing, in alinement with the rods 67, 68, and couplings 72, 73, engage the adjacent screw threaded ends of said rods for adjusting their tension.

The front pair of vehicle springs are denoted by 74, 75 and the rear pair of vehicle springs are denoted by 76, 77.

.These springs are shown as of the semielliptic type and the rear pair of springs are shown as inverted. The front springs converge from their front Ito their rear ends so as to permit the. steering traction wheels 18, 19, to be swung to a greater angle with respect to the vehicle than would be possible where the springs were parallel with the vehicle, thus permitting the vehicle to turn in a shorter circle. These front vejhicle springs 74, 75, are mounted intermediate their ends on the front axle housing 20 as follows: Each spring has its clip plate 78 to which its clips -7 9 are secured, pivoted at 8O to the front axle housing, in the present instance by providing the housingwith a pair of lugs 81, 82, and the plate with, a

lug y83 interposed between the lugs 81, 82,

ivot bolt 80 through the three lugs. Eac front sprin is thereby pivoted to its support. The ront end of each of these front vehicle springs is Vattached to its respective extension arm 9, 10, through a link 84 and the rear end of each of these front vehicle springs is connectedl to the frame through a link 85 suspended from a short cross bar 86 projecting inwardly from each side bar 1 and 2 and supported at its `inner end by a bracket 87. A diagonal brace 88 may lead from this bracket 87 to its respective side bar 1 and 2.

The pair of inverted rear vehicle springs 7 6, 77, are mounted intermediate their ends on the rear axle 24 as follows'z-A bracket 89 aiprises from each upward branchl 25, 26, of Ithe drop axle, which bracket is secured at 90 by suitable bolts.' Each bracket has a hole 91 through which the several leaves of the spring extend. The hole 91,is of the same width as the spring but is sufficiently long to admit the insertion of a metal bottomy plate 92 and top wedge plate 93 for locking the spring to the bracket. The bottom plate 9 2 is preferably riveted together with the leaves of .the' springs by the rivet ,bolt 94.y After the wedge plate 93 has been driven home, its smaller end is upset as shown at 95 and the opposite ends-of the bottom plate 92 are upset as shown at 96 to overlap the l125 top and bottom walls ofthe hole 91,for absolutely preventing any longitudinal move- A ment of the spring within thebracket. The rear ends of these springs 76, 77, are pivoted ends. of the rear extension arms 130 and passing the 95 11, 12, and the front ends of these springs are connected to the side bars 1 and 2 at the depressed portion of the frame by links 97.

Hanging brackets 98 'are secured to the .side bars 1 and 2 and intermediate-,longitunal bars 14, 1'5, which bracketshave outwardly extended arms 99 to which steps 100 are secured.y These bracketsv also support the ends of a cross rock shaft 101 vof the brake mechanism. v The forward ends of the radius rods 102, 10b., are secured to these brackets 98 and the rear ends of these radius rods are secured Qto the rear drop axle 24 for tying the rear axle to the frame against longitudinal movement with respect thereto.

`From the above description itwill be seen that a chassis construction is provided in which the shape of the frame permits the ready mounting of a landaulet body thereupon, the reversing of the arrangement of the front and rear springs permitting the use.of a frame having a raised forward and depressed rearward portion. llt will also be seen that the provision of convergent front springs permits the motor driven steering traction 'wheels to be turned at a greater angle with respect to the frame thereby permittingthe car to be turned in a very short space. It will also be seen that by supporting the motor upon a'bar rigidly secured to the frontaxle housing and properly bracing said motor, it is impossible for the motor and worm gear shafts to become out of alinement. The yielding or resilient connection of thev rear end' of the motor supporting' bar with the frame eliminates both noise and jar at this point.

By pivotally mounting the front springs on the front axle housing, the springs are more readily permitted to adjust themselves without any undue strain upon the housing or themselves. The mounting of the rear springs upon brackets secured to the drop rear axle materially cheapens the construction of theaxle and, at the same time, permits the ready insertion and removal of the springs without affecting the axle itself. lt will also be noticed that the brackets for supporting the stepsalso serve as supports for the intermediate brake rock shaft and for the forward ends of the radius rods.

lt is evident that various changes might be resorted to in the form, construction and arrangement ofthe several parts without departing fromA the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myelf strictly to the structure herein set forth,

ut v What I claim is 1. In' a motor vehicle, 4a chassis frame diverging from front to rear having an elevatedfront portion and a depressed rear portion, converging upwardly directed front springs located belowf the elevated front pore tion of the frame and downwardly directed rear springs located above the depressed rear portion of the fram-e. l

2. In a motor vehicle, a chassis frame diverging from l'front to rear having an elevated front portion and a depressed rear portion, converging upwardly directed front semi-elliptic springs located below the elevated front portion of the frame `and downwardly directed rear semi-elliptic springs located above the depressed rear portion of the frame.

3. In a motor vehicle, a chassis frame diverging from front to rear having an ele- :vated front portionand a depressed rear portion, a lfront axle housing, a rear axle,

converging upwardly directed front springsv located below the elevatedportion of the `the front axle housing and downwardly directed semi-elliptic rear springs located above' the depressed rear lportion of the frame and, connecting it to the rear axle.

5. In a motor vehicle, a chassis frame having an elevated front portion and a d epressed rear portion, front springs located below and within the sides of the elevatedl front portion of the frame and rear springs' `located above and exterior to the sides of the depressed rear portion of the frame.

6. lin a motor vehicle, a chassis frame having an elevated' front portion and a depressed rear portion, front springs located below and within the sides of the elevated front portion ofthe frame and rear springs located above and exterior to the sides of the lll@ depressed rear portion of the frame, said I front springs being convergent from front to rear to permit the steering traction wheels to be turned to la greater angle withrespect to the frame than 1f the springs were parallel with the frame.

7. lin a motor vehicle, achassis frame diverging from front to rear, having an'elevated .front portion and a depressed rear` portion, the elevated front portion having downwardy projecting front extension arms, a front axle housing, and converging-upwardly directed front springs having their front ends connected to said arms, their rearf ends to the elevated portion of the frame" and their intermediate portions to the front yaxle housing.

8.111 a motor vehicle, al Achassis .frame .divergingvfrom front to' rear having -an elevated front portion and a depressed rear portion and upwardly projecting rear extension arms, a rear axle and downwardly directed rear springs having their rear ends connected to said arms, their front ends to the depressed portion of the vfrance and their intermediatev portions to the rear axle.

9. In a motor vehicle, a chassis frame diverging from front to rear, a rear drop axle, brackets having holes therethrough, said brackets projecting above and secured to the uprising portions of the axle and rear springs passing through said holes in the brackets and connected at their ends to the frame and intermediate their ends to said brackets.

10. In a, motor vehicle chassis, an axle, brackets having holes therethrough and secured to said axle, springs extending through said holes in the brackets and wedges adapted to enter said holes in the brackets for locking the springs to the brackets. f

11. In a motor vehicle chassis, a drop rear axle, brackets having holes therethrough secured to and uprising from the elevated portions of said axle and rear vehicle springs extending through said holes and secured to said brackets.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing asmy invention, I have signed my name 1n presence of two witnesses, this 9th day of October 1911.

WILLIAM I-I. DOUGLAS.

Witnesses f F. GEORGE BARRY, Offro W. I-IoLMGREN. 

